Dealing with Able-Bodied People Who Don't Understand Disability

I’ve had so many dr.s tell me at least it’s not cancer 🤬

Yeah… my sister is paralyzed from the waist down and tells me that everyone has pots and it doesn’t count as a disability. Even she invalidates it as a disability. So now I don’t even bother telling anyone about anything. Many people think I’m being lazy on my hard days but really I just can’t get up with out blacking out or fainting. I just stopped trying to validate my disability and let people think what they want.

Yes!! My mom just recovered from her second round of cancer and everyone had grace for her being sick but didn’t understand why I couldn’t “push through it”. She kept telling me I just need to accept it and move on, like it’s just a mental block that makes me disabled. And on top of that she had a way better quality of life while going through treatment than I do. She literally traveled and went skiing. And I can only take short walks close to home. This cancer treatment was much easier than her first time when she was very very sick, and I’m not trying to say we shouldn’t have grace for people with cancer of course, but my god just the title of cancer makes everyone fall at your feet while other debilitating illnesses can be totally ignored.

Wtf? There are people who think the only real debilitating illness is cancer?? I haven’t gotten that specifically, but I use a walker/wheelchair to avoid prolonged standing or walking on bad POTS days and I’ve had people say things like “I thought you were disabled” the first time they see me stand up or walk without a mobility aid. I feel like most of this stuff comes from a lack of awareness and empathy. People just don’t understand that there are countless variations of disabilities, and the severity of a lot of chronic illnesses can vary like crazy day to day